Development of a Biomimetic Cerebral Organ-on-Chip Platform for Studying Neuroprotective Mechanisms
Nanjing
Date: 【Winter Vacation】Jan.27th - Jan.31st, 2027
#Biomedical Engineering #Neuroscience #Cell Biology #Molecular Biology
Exploring the mysteries of the brain is one of the grandest challenges facing contemporary science. Brain science, as the "ultimate frontier" of life science research, not only pertains to human understanding of consciousness, memory, and emotion but also holds the key to overcoming numerous neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Traditional animal models often have many limitations. Brain-on-a-chip technology, as a novel cutting-edge research tool, compensates for these shortcomings. Brain-on-a-chip technology, hailed as "recreating the life microenvironment in a petri dish", utilizes stem cell technology to cultivate 3D miniature brain tissue models on microfluidic chips, which can simulate part of the structure and function of the human brain, providing a new platform for simulating the real physiological and disease states of the brain. This project leads participants to use microfluidic technology to construct an in vitro "bionic human brain-on-a-chip," dynamically simulating the most critical biological barrier in the human brain from the blood-brain barrier to explore its working mechanism in protecting the brain and screening substances, helping them cultivate rigorous scientific thinking and solid experimental abilities
Teaching Faculty
Experts in Organs-on-chips from national research institutes are specially invited
Cutting-edge Topics
Systematically learn the key role and frontier applications of brain science and the blood-brain barrier in protecting the central nervous system
Real Lab Practice
Construct an in vitro “bionic human brain organ-on-a-chip” to simulate the blood-brain barrier, the most critical biological barrier in the human brain
Outcome Application
Research outcomes provide new scientific directions for tackling neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Main Experiments
Cell Culture
Microfluidic Chip Fabrication and Experimental System Setup
Construction of Brain Organ-on-a-Chip Model
Stimulation and Efficacy Evaluation
小鼠解剖实验
脑立体定位实验
动物焦虑行为实验
Certificates
Feedbacks
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Through this thematic study program, I gained my first genuine exposure to the research fields of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and organ-on-a-chip technology. I learned that the blood-brain barrier, consisting primarily of brain microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes, functions to block harmful substances from entering the brain. I also discovered that researchers can leverage microfluidic organ-on-a-chip platforms to recapitulate the human blood-brain barrier *in vitro*, providing valuable models for brain disease research, drug screening and novel drug development.—— Tianjin Yinghua Experimental School, Student Hou
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I believe the chip damage detection stage brought me the greatest gains. To begin with, this procedure involves numerous steps that demand great care, such as inserting thin tubing into the inlet and outlet channels of the chip. It taught me that carefulness and composure should come first when conducting scientific research in the future.Moreover, it helped me build up my patience. For instance, I needed to wait for a period of time to ensure that all 5 mL of culture medium flowed through the chip into the waste centrifuge tube, so as to maintain experimental integrity and accurate results. During this process, I also learned to stay calm and respond appropriately when unexpected issues arise.
—— Green Town Ivy International School, Student Wang
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细胞培养给我带来了很大的收获，提前进了实验室感受细胞培养及研究的过程，认识了这之前不认识的各种仪器，并上手进行了实操，我想比别人多了一份生物细胞培养的经验，并且阿思丹所能提供的证书对我以后的升学很有帮助，我以后想学的是有关生物医疗人工智能类的，我认为国外美本前30以及其他的像英国类的学校有很大的帮助英国类的学校很认可这个！
—— 上海市民办万源城协和双语学校 李同学
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